Ford Motor Co. (F:US), expanding output of its Fusion sedan to a U.S. plant, said that factory could produce another model as demand expands.
“We certainly have the flexibility for the future to do more,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas, told reporters today as the first Fusions rolled off the line in Flat Rock, Michigan. “We’re trying to get our capacity set up to meet demand. With the growing demand for our trucks, growing demand for Fusion, other product lines, that’s what we’re focused on.”
Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally is hiring almost 6,500 new workers this year in the U.S., where Ford is the second-largest automaker and leads the industry in market share growth through 2013’s first seven months. The Fusion is challenging Toyota (7203) Motor Corp.’s Camry as the nation’s top-selling car while selling at an average premium of more than $2,300 per vehicle.